Dan Carpenter: Author Bob Knight still having his day

Mar. 7, 2013

Legendary college basketball coach, Bob Knight, stopped by the NCAA Hall of Champions Wednesday morning in Indianapolis to sign copies of his new book, 'The Power of Negative Thinking.' / Frank Espich / The Star

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It speaks volumes about the condition of our culture that a worn-out sports figure spouting warmed-over wisdom about the game of life has churned out yet another best-selling book and is getting the adulation Tobias Wolff never dreamed of.

Look him up. You might be thinking of Joe Wolf, who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 1980s. Sorry for any offense.

The ’80s, you remember, were the period of Bob Knight’s last national championship and pretty near the end of his run as far as significant success is concerned. He left Indiana University in ignominy after putting hands on a student while on zero tolerance for serial boorish behavior. He has nursed a grudge ever since while the university begs him to accept its tribute and a nostalgic Hoosier Nation tolerates his lackluster TV commentary and buys his books.

It’s easy for a sports/entertainment celebrity to come off as an intellectual. Apply a little Sun Tzu to an explanation of the pick-and-roll, or call out a poor sportswriter for asking a question that betrays his lack of sophistication as to the nuances of putting a ball through a net, and you’re on your way to the sort of aura that The General has commanded through a million startling statements of the obvious or obtuse.

What has made him important is what he would portray as secondary to his teaching vocation: winning lots of basketball games. There’s no disparaging that achievement; but he could not have done it without outstanding players, and he did not owe either his many victories or his teams’ commendable graduation rate to his outrageous displays of anger and ego.

The whole package has made him a uniquely polarizing figure. His loyalists, from various privileged sportswriters to Dick Vitale, tend to grant him the status of an Ayn Rand superman entitled to his own rules. The non-sports-crazy find him a grand embarrassment turned aging bore. In between are those who cherish those championship banners and an honest program, but concede they came at the price of a lot of Knight.

That Coach is still exacting a price is remarkable, given the passage of time and the unremarkable quality of his written and televised observations. Yes, as he says in his new co-authored literary work, “The Power of Negative Thinking,” it can be disadvantageous to think you’re a bigger deal than you are. Clearly, though, there are exceptions to that rule.

Carpenter is a columnist and editorial writer with The Star. Contact him at (317) 444-6172, via e-mail at dan.carpenter@indystar.com or on Twitter @IndyStarDanC